ConocoPhillips Moves To Seize Venezuelan Oil Assets

ConocoPhillips has seized the oil product inventory of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA following the issuance of two court orders granting it this right as part of efforts to enforce compensation to the tune of US$2 billion awarded the U.S. company by court. “PDVSA products from the installations of the Isla refinery have been confiscated. We don’t have any way to get them,” Reuters quoted Curacao’s economic minister as saying. Steven Martina added that the ministry will host a meeting with Conoco and PDVSA later this week to discuss the matter. Curacao’s economy is dependent on the PDVSA refinery, Isla, which accounts for a tenth of the island’s GDP and much of the employment on Curacao. The refinery has a capacity of 335,000 bpd of crude, but is currently operating at much lower than usual rates as the Venezuelan owner cannot access enough crude to feed into it. Conoco […]